The Genesis of Technoscientific Revolutions: Rethinking the Nature and Nurture of Research

Scientific progress doesn’t always precede engineering advances; it often follows. Answering questions isn’t always the goal; finding questions often is. Sometimes we seek to strengthen conventional wisdom; sometimes to surprise it. What if we could rethink nurturing research, through policy and management, to harmonize with the nature of research?

Table of Contents:
Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Introduction Chapter 1. The Technoscientific Method: Science, Technology, and Their Coevolution 1.1. The Repositories of Technoscientific Knowledge: S and T 1.2. The Growth of Technoscientific Knowledge: Ṡ and Ṫ 1.3. Cycles of Ṡ and Ṫ: The Transistor and the Maser / Laser 1.4. Recapitulation Chapter 2. The Intricate Dance of Question-and-Answer Finding 2.1. Networks of Questions and Answers: Q and A 2.2. Finding New Questions and Answers: Q̇ and Ȧ 2.3. Cycles of Q̇ and Ȧ: Special Relativity and the iPhone 2.4. Recapitulation Chapter 3. The Punctuated Equilibria of Knowledge Evolution: Surprise and Consolidation 3.1. Paradigms as Mediators of Surprise and Consolidation 3.2. Surprise Spawns Consolidation Spawns Surprise 3.3. Cycles of Surprise and Consolidation: Artificial Lighting 3.4. Recapitulation Chapter 4. Guiding Principles for Nurturing Research 4.1. Align Organization, Funding, and Governance for Research 4.2. Embrace a Culture of Holistic Technoscientific Exploration 4.3. Nurture People with Care and Accountability 4.4. Recapitulation Conclusion Glossary References Acknowledgments Index

Review :
Essential reading. By integrating the previous work of leading science and technology scholars, creating new terminology, concepts, and logical structures, and including concrete examples, these two eminent leaders make a compelling case for rethinking how we understand and nurture research to advance the public good. -- Laura Diaz Anadon, Chaired Professor of Climate Change Policy, University of Cambridge Enlightening and important. Narayanamurti and Tsao demolish long-accepted tenets of science and technology research by exposing flaws, misconceptions, and anachronisms, then propose a visionary new framework. Invaluable for anyone leading a research enterprise, recruiting talent, or devising new funding mechanisms. -- Nancy Andrews, former Dean of the Duke University School of Medicine A thought-provoking journey. By transcending widespread but limiting beliefs, The Genesis of Technoscientific Revolutions explores how to better understand research and unleash its potential. Highly recommended for all policy makers and leaders interested in improving the effectiveness of research and developing high-performing research institutions. -- Qi-Kun Xue, Director of the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences Highly accomplished researchers Narayanamurti and Tsao synthesize new and old ideas about how science and technology work together, sharing audacious insights that can improve research outcomes. This book will be a rewarding read for all who want to understand innovation and accelerate it. -- John P. Holdren, former Science Advisor to President Obama and Senate-confirmed Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy A deep examination of how discoveries and innovations have happened in history, and [it] comes up with a set of methods on nurturing research in public-funded institutions and corporate labs. It is a book that is at once dense and insightful, to be read as much by the shop floor scientist as the CEO, by policymakers as much as university professors. -- Hari Pulakkat Shaastra A useful contribution to the study of scientific method and should be of considerable interest to anyone interested in the history and/or the philosophy of science (and technology). -- The Complete Review The book is a rigorous intellectual effort to make the reader aware of some of the most prominent and interesting frameworks of thinking about the development of science and technology that occurred during the 1990s and 2000s. The book should be seen as a manual to help people think about, design, and develop research activities through new conceptual frameworks, frameworks that give primacy neither to science nor to technology. -- Ozan Altan Altinok Metascience